Stage-gun.



H. L. JACKSON.

STAGE GUN.

APPLxcATloN FILED nEc.21,1915.

Patented 001'.. 17, 1916.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

- Eva/@27729211 H'. l.. JACKSON.

STAGE GUN.

APPLICATVloN FILED vEc.2?,1915.

1,201,588. Patented om. 17,1916.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

iran srarns Prnnr carica.

HARRY Il. JACKSON, OF LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, ASSIGNOR TO NATIONAL DRAMA CORPORATION, E NEW YORK, N. Y., A CORPORATION OF DELAWARE.

STAGE-GUN.

Specification of Letters Patent.

l Patented Oct. 17, 1916.

Application filed December 27, 1915. Serial No. 68,970.

exploded to simulate the discharge of the genuine guns. The stage guns hitherto in use however, have had the following serious defect: None of them imitated the natural recoil of the gun at the moment of discharge, nor the gradual raising thereof to firing position.

It is an object of this invention to construct a stage gun suitable for photoplays or the dramatic stage, which is provided f with mechanical means which give a realistic representation of a modern high power gun in action.

It is another object of this invention to devise means for this purpose which are simple of construction, positive in operation, and not liable to get out of order.

With the foregoing and other objects in view which will appear as the description proceeds, my invention consists in the combination, construction and arrangements of parts hereinafter described and claimed.

In the accompanying drawings which form a part of this specification, Ihave illustrated a convenient and practical embodiment of my invention, and in which:

Figure 1 is a side elevation of the improved stage gun. Fig. 2 is a cross-sectional view on an enlarged scale taken on a plane passing through the gun barrel and the adjacent parts connected thereto. Fig. 3 is a central longitudinal cross-sectional view of the gun barrel and parts permanently attached thereto. Fig. 4 is a top plan view of the frame on which the gun barrel slides. Fig. 5 is a section on line 5-5 of Fig. 4. Figs. 6 and 7 are detail views of the gun barrel tripping device.

In Fig. 1 I have shown a modern mortar of large caliber equipped with my mechanical recoil apparatus. It is to be understood that my invention is not limited to this form of ordnance, but is applicable to any other high power stage gun.

represents the a pair of caterpillar wheels 11. A barrel frame 12 provided with trunnions 13 is pivotally mounted to the upper portion of the gun carriage 10. Three cylinders 14, are mounted on the upper portion of the barrel frame and serve to imitate the compression cylinders of a modern gun. The frame is substantially rectangular in shape, having a large central opening 15 in which the gun barrel 1G is slidably mounted. The base 17 of the barrel is a plane surface which rests upon the upper flat face 18 of the bottom member 19 of the frame 12. The bottom of the barrel is provided with a pair of oppositely disposed lateral flanges 20, adapted to slide in dove-tailed relation and engagement with a pair of inwardly turned lateral flanges 2l which project inwardly from the side members 22 of the frame 12, the lower faces of anges 21 contacting with the upper faces of the flanges 2O of the gun barrel. Near the middle of the bottom member 19 of the frame, two cylindrical grooves or channels 23 and 24 are provided whose longitudinal axes extend parallel to each other and to the base 17 of the gun barrel. An explosion chamber 25 adapted for the explosion of a small charge of gun powder or the like is located in the bore of gun barrel. rI`he charge is ignited by means of an electric circuit 26 suitably connected with an electric source of energy (not shown).

As clearly shown in Fig. 3, the lower end of the gun barrel is positioned on the bottom member 19 intermediate the ends of the latter. It is held in position by a latch or tripper mechanism 'which consists of a latch member 27 pivoted at 27 to the gun barrel. The lower portion of the latch member eX- tends into a notch or recess 28 of the frame 12 adjacent thereto. The latch member is releasably held in barrel locking position by a latch release lever 29 pivoted at 30 to the barrel. An anti-friction roller 31 at the latch member end of the lever engages said latch member to hold the same in barrel locking position. A flexible connection or cord 32 is attached to the other end of the lever 29. Secured to the lever 29 is a contact member 33 which is a part of the electric circuit 26. This contact member is gun carriage comprising Lci adapted to engage a stationary contact member 34 in said circuit when the cord 32 is pulled. The pulling of said cord will close the electric circuit exploding the charge so that the gun barrel is free to move byy gravity on the face 18 of the bottom member of the inclined frame 12.

The sliding movement of the gun barrel is cushioned in order to imitate the cushioning effect of the compression cylindersof modern guns. For this purpose a coiled compression spring 35 is mounted in the channel 23 located in the bottom member 19 of the frame. The coiled spring is disposed between two end plates 36 and 37. rIhe end plate 37, which is at the lower end of the spring, is stationary, being held in position by a rod 38 whose upper end is fast to the bottom member 19 of the frame and which passes centrally through the coiled spring. The lower end of rod 3S is secured to the plate 37. 36 is movably mounted, being fastened to the upper end of a pair of rods 39 which, after passing through the plate 37, have their lower ends secured to aV plate 40. A connecting rod 4l rigidly attached to said plate 40 extends downwardly therefrom and is provided at its end with a head 42 secured to a lug 43 fast to the lower end of the gun barrel and extending into said channel 23.

It will be understood from the description of the cushioning spring that the gun barrel after its release from its latch member 27 will move downwardly by gravity on the bottom member of the frame. YThe top plate 36, which is operatively connected to the barrel will move downwardly and compress the spring 35, the lower end of which is held in place by the fixed spring plate A mechanism is provided for moving the gnn barrel again into its original firing position after it has reached the limit of its downward movement. For this purpose, a counter-weight 44 is mounted in the upper end of the channel 24. The counterweight should be made considerably heavier than the weight of the gun barrel. lThe gun constructed in accordance with this invention as illustrated has a barrel weighing 450 pounds an'd Ilind that a counterweight of 500 pounds gives satisfactory results. The angle of elevation of the gun barrel when in use varies, but l is usually rather high, an Y angle of sixty degrees being not uncommon.

The resistance `to the sliding movement of the lgun barrel, due to friction is small, and is takenA care of by the heavier counterweight. Furthermore the counterweight .is

assisted in itsr operation of moving the bar- The upper plate rel to firing position by the coiled spring 35 which at the moment when the counterthe upper end of the groove 24. A flexible c connection, such as a cord 46 is fastened at one end to said weight and passing over said pulley has its other end securely attached to the gun barrel at a point adjacent to said pulley. The length of the cord is such that when the extreme downward movement of the gun` barrel is reached, it will be in its fully extended or taut condition.

rlhe counterweight 44 is held in inoperative position and released for operation at the moment when the gun barrel has reached the end of its downward movement by the following mechanism: A slot 47 is provided at the bottom member 19 of the frame leading from the lower face thereof to the channel 24 and being located adjacent to the lower end of the counterweight 44. A weight release trigger 48 is pivoted intermediate its ends at 49 to said member and has the end of its upper arm in contact with the lower end of the weight. The weight is held in position, being unable to pass the upper arm of the trigger 48. The lower arm of the trigger is connected by a rod 50 to a trigger operating lever 5l whose lower end is pivoted at F 2 to a bracket 53 secured to the under side of the bottom member 19 of the frame. rllhe forward end of the lever extends through a slot 54 which leads from the bottom of the channel 34 to the under side of the frame. forward end 51 of the lever 51 projects beyond the plane of the upper face of the bottommember 19 of the frame, and is adapted to be engaged by bottom of the gun barrel, as the latter approaches the end of its downward movement. The lower end of the rod 50 is pivoted at 55 to said lever 5l, said pivot being intermediate the pivot 52 and the upper end of said lever.

As the gun barrel approaches the end of its downward movement, it will strike the upper end 5l of the release lever 51 moving the rod 50 downwardly. The trigger 47 will be swung out of the way of the counterweight as shown in the dotted lines (see F ig. 3). The counterweight is now free to move. The cord 46 being taut, the downward movement of the weight in conjunction with the action of the compressed `coiled spring 35 will immediately cause the gun barrel to move upwardly in the reverse direction until the gun barrel has reached its original firing position, when the tripper 27 and the release tripper lever 29 lmay be set so as to lock the gun barrel in position in The extreme relation to the frame 12. It should be noted that the downward movement of the gun barrel is cushionedbecause a part of its momentum is expended in compressing the spring 35. The upward movement thereof is likewise cushioned. As the counter- .weight @la gathers momentum in sliding downwardly in the channel 2:1, the action of the compression spring 35 gradually loses its force as it expands to its normal position, thereby compensating for the increased momentum of said weight, and' rendering the movement of the barrel smooth and uniform.

From the foregoing description, the operation of my improved stage gun will be easily understood. The same is moved in place and pointed at any desired angle of elevation, which however will be fairly high in view of the nature of the gun which it is intended to represent. |Ihe cord 32 is pulled which closes the circuit that explodes the charge in the explosion chamber and imitates the flash of the discharge. At the same moment, the weight of the barrel causes the latch member to swing on its pivot out of the recess 2S of the frame, allowing the gun barrel to move freely down on the upper face of the bottom member 19 of the frame. In its downward movement, the spring 35 is compressed as describedabove, thereby cushioning the downward movement of the barrel. At the end of the downward movement of the barrel, the counterweight release mechanism is operated by the lower end of the barrel striking the release lever 51. rIhe counterweight, which is heavier than the gun barrel, slides down the inclined channel 24 and causes the gun barrel to slide up on the face of the inclined bottom member of the frame by means of the cord 46 which is attached to the barrel. The action of the coiled spring in expanding initiallyl assists the action of the counterweight.A Itis therefore seen that I have constructed a stage gun whichvnot only has the appearance of a modern high power gun or mortar, but which also faithfully imitates the natural recoil and positioning movements of said gun.

lVhile I have shown and described the preferred construction of the improved stage gun as now known to me, it will be obvious that various changes in the combination, construction and arrangement of parts may be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit of my inventionfj as defined in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. In a stage gun, the combination of a gun carriage, a frame pivotally mounted thereon, a gun barrel slidably mounted in barrel release tripper pivotally connected to said barrel and releasably engaging said frame, means operatively connected to said tripper for closing said circuit when the barrel is released, manually roperated tripper actuating means, said frame being provided withi a pair of cylindrical grooves having their longitudinal axes parallel to the direction of movement of said barrel, a compression spring mounted in one of said grooves, the lower end of said spring being stationary, the upper end thereof being operatively connected to said barrel, a connterweight releasably mounted in the upper end of the other of said grooves, a pulley fast to the upper end of said last named groove, a flexible member of a length corresponding substantially to the length of movement of said barrel, passing over said pulley and connecting said weight to said barrel, anda weight releasing device comprising a lever, a weight support and a rod connecting said lever to said weight support, said support being pivoted in said frame and adapted to swing out of the way of the weight when the lever is operated by the barrel at the end of its downward movement.

2. In a stage gun, the combination of a gun carriage, a frame pivotally mounted thereon, a gun barrel slidably mounted in said frame, an explosion chamber in said barrel, means for exploding a charge in said chamber, a barrel release tripper pivotally connected to said barrel and releasably engaging said frame, said frame being provided' with a pair o f grooves having their longitudinal axes parallel to the direction of movement 'of said barrel, a compression spring mounted in one of said grooves, the lower end of said spring being stationary, the upper end thereof being operatively connected to said barrel, a counterweight releasably mounted in the upper end of the other of said grooves, a pulley at the upper end of said last named groove, a flexible member passing over said pulley and connecting said weight to said barrel, and a weight releasing device comprising a lever and a weight support operatively connected thereto, said support being adapted to move out of the way of the weight when said lever is operated by the barrel at the end of its downward movement.

3. In a stage gun, the combination of a gun carriage, a frame pivotally mounted thereon, a gun barrel slidably mounted in said frame, an explosion chamber in said 'barreL means for exploding a charge in aid chamber, means for releasably locking aid barrel to said frame, said frame being provided with a pair of grooves having heir longitudinal axes parallel to the disaid frame, an explosion chamber in said rection of movement of said barrel, resilient barrel, means comprising an electric circuit means mounted in one of said grooves, one

for exploding a charge in said chamber, a

end of said resilient means being stationary,

f the other end thereof being operativelyr oonnected to said barrel, a counterweight releasablyfmounted inthe upper end ofthe releasing device comprising a lever and a weight support kconnected thereto, said support beingadapted tofmove out of the wayof the weight rwhenfthe lever is operated by the barrel at the endof its downward movement. f

f ysupport, a frame pivotallyr mounted thereon,r a gun barrel slidably mounted in said'frame, f

4.. Ina stage gun, the combination of ar ybarrel release tripper releasably locking f said barrel into said frame-,itripperoperating means, a compression spring, thelower end7 of said springr beingy stationary, the

upper yend thereof being operatively corr' nected to said barrel, a. ycounterweight re-y leasably ymounted, a fixed pulley, a flexible member passing over said pulley: and conf necting said weight to said barrel,r and a weight releasing idevice operative when said barrelapproaches the end of its rdownward movement. f

5.r rIn ar ,stagey gun, rthe ycombination of a,

@supportq a frame, a gun barrel; slidably f mountedin said frame, yan explosion chambei1 in saidy barrel, ya barrel .releasey tripper -f releasably locking saidfbarrel to said frame,

means ifor simultaneously explodingfsaid f 4charge in said chamber and operating salda trippenfsaid frame being provided with a groove having its longitudinal axis parallel to the direction of movement of said barrel, a. counterweight rele-asably mounted in the upper end of said groove, a stationary pulley, a flexible member passing over said pulley and connecting said weight to said barrel and a weight releasing device operative when said barrel approaches the end of its downward movement.

6. In a stage gun, the combination of a support, a frame pivotally mounted thereon, a gun barrel slidably mounted in said frame, an explosion chamber in said barrel, a barrel release tripper releasablv locking said frame to said barrel, means for simultaneously exploding a charge in said chamber and for operating said tripper, a counterweight operatively connected to said barrel and adapted to move said barrel to normal yend'of itsdownward'movement. f

yi'iring position, andy a weight releasing device operative when said barrel approaches frame, an explosion chamber in Said barrel, afgun release tripperireleasably locking saidk frame to said barrel, means for simultaneously exploding a charge in said chamber and for operating 'said tripper, ak counterweight operatively connected to said barrel d adapted to ymove the same to normal firing position and ar weight releasing device operative when said barrel approaches th 8. In a stage gun, ythe combination of a f frame,r a gun barrel slidably mounted thereyin, anexplosion chamber 1n said barrel, ay

barrel release rmechanism releasablyy locking said framek to said' barrehfmeans for eXplodingy a ycharge in said chamber' and for oper-f ating said release mechanism, a rcounteryweight operatively connected to ysaid barrel and adapted to move thesamey in normal Fi firing position and a weight releasing ydevice operative ywhen ksaid barrely approaches the end yof its downward movement.

9.In a stagey gun, the combination of ar frame,'a gun barrel'slidably mounted therenism operatively connectedy yto saidy barrel for moving the same to normal firing position and means rendering said last named means operative when said barrel approaches the end of its downward movement.

l0. In a stage gun, the combination of a frame, a gun barrel slidably mounted therein, a barrel releasing mechanism releasably locking said frame to said barrel, means for operating said releasing mechanism, means operatively connected to said barrel and adapted to move the same to normal firing position, and means rendering said last named means operative when said barrel approaches the end of its downward movement.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification.

HARRY L. JACKSON.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents.

Washington, D. C.

iin, an rexplosion chamber in said barrel, a' f 7barrel krelease kmechanism releasahly locking said framefto saidfbarreli, means for exrploding a charge in said chamber, means for operating said release mechanism, ay mecha'-y 

